Frontier
by cornwallace
Summary: What a desperate and agonizing journey it is to find that missing piece of yourself. Heavily inspired by Mistress Bonbon by Reciprocate.
1. Introductions

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  
Introductions 

* * *

Pods and Arwings escape almost arbitrarily from Mothership's bay as the organic flying vessels crash themselves into the side of it.  
Tearing. Molding. Morphing.  
The structural integrity bends and adapt as flames erupt within the hangar. Shots being fired from inside.

A lone pod floats into the atmosphere of a nearby planet. Gravity takes hold and the outside of the pod is coated in a layer of flame. Encapsulating it and trailing behind it like an aural tail.

It blinks out of site as Mothership begins to bleed. 

* * *

frontier

* * *

The water is as still as Krystal's reflection painted on it. Sun gleaming ever so slightly off the tip of the steady spear.  
Just beneath the glass like surface, shadows movie quietly. Carefully, as to not cause disturbance.

Her grip tightens ever so slightly.  
Eyes narrow.

She strikes the water evoking a splash, quickly withdrawing a dying fish at the end of her weapon. Flopping and wriggling as its energy erodes and it slowly dies.

Later, over her campfire, she cooks the fish on angled pikes protruding from the earth over the flame.  
She takes a bite. She tries her best to enjoy it. The simple act of eating.  
Flesh tears away from the carcasses body between her teeth. She tries not to think about it.

The wind picks up. Her ears sway ever so slightly in the breeze.  
The sun is going down. She regrets not being able to push on longer, but she sighs and watches the remaining time of the day dwindle.

Once the sun is gone and the sky is black and the only light left is the warm glow from her campfire, she crawls into her meager shelter and closes her eyes.  
She didn't have too terribly much time to work on it, and she knew that, so it's pretty basic. A few sticks and a blanket of foliage she put together hastily while her meal cooked.  
Keeping her spear close, she tries not to let anxiety keep her awake. She tries to think of something comforting, something that makes her smile.

The pretty sunset.  
Her mother's voice.  
Miyu...

Her grip around the spear tightens and so do her eyelids. A single tear rolls down her cheek. 

* * *

"You're one of the new recruits, huh?"

Krystal doesn't even consider that Miyu would be talking to her until she feels a soft pinch on the skin of her arm. She halfway flinches and blinks twice before looking.

"Whoa, you okay? I didn't mean to scare you."

Krystal nods and composes herself. She'd been sitting by herself at one of the corners of a break room table. Lost in thought. She hadn't imagined anyone would have wanted to talk to her, of all people.

"You sure? Cat got your tongue?" Miyu smiles slyly at her own joke, admiring her own cleverness.

Krystal doesn't get it. "Cat...?"

"It's an old saying! How have you not heard that before?"

Her eyes shift nervously away from Miyu to the corner of the room in embarrassment. "I don't..."

"Hey, it's okay. Don't be such a sadsack, huh?"

"Sad...sack?"

"Wow. You're not from around here are you?"

She shakes her head. She looks back at Krystal nervously.

"Where you from?"

"Cerinia."

"Oh, I've never heard of it. Not from the Lylat system, eh?"

She shakes her head.

"How exotic." Miyu grins.

Krystal blinks. "Er. Yes."

"I bet it's beautiful there."

She shakes her head. "Not anymore. Gone. Er. Destroyed."

Miyu's smile drops instantly. "I'm so sorry. Now I feel like an ass."

She shakes her head. "No. Don't be sorry, I mean. You didn't destroy my planet."

"What happened? If it's okay if I ask."

Krystal looks waywardly.

"It's okay. Hey. We'll change the subject okay? You got a name, or are you just the cute vixen at the break table?"

Her cheeks grow hot and her eyes dart towards Miyu again before retreating once more. "Krystal."

"That's a pretty name for a pretty gal. My name's Miyu." She extends her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Krystal looks at her hand and looks back at her face. She smiles warmly. Instead of grabbing it with the opposite hand, she wraps her fingers around it with her closer hand and pulls it in, gently holding it with both.

"Miyu," she says, smiling. "Lovely."

Miyu, caught off guard, smiles goofily. "I gotta say, Krystal, that's the best handshake I've ever gotten."

Krystal looks confused. "Did I..." she cocks her head and looks at their hands. "do it wrong...?"

Miyu snorts a bit, giggling to herself. "Don't you worry about that, hon. How about letting me see that pretty smile again?"

It's involuntary. She feels an emotion she can't exactly describe. Not quite embarrassment or shame, but on the more positive side along those lines.  
The flutter of her heart inside of her chest.

The presence of another startles her.

"Already hitting on the newbies, huh?" the girly dog asks, scooting her chair up across the table from them. "Miss, is this woman bothering you?"

Krystal looks at her, concerned. "N-no, she would never hit me. Miyu seems very nice and gentle."

The dog barks laughter. "Where'd you pick this one up, Miyu? A dinosaur planet?"

"Fay, you're such a bitch," Miyu says, rolling her eyes. "That doesn't mean what you think it does. It's a turn of phrase."

"That's where Star Fox found me, yes," Krystal says timidly. "A planet with dinosaurs."

Fay blinks and howls more laughter. "This one's funny, Miyu. A real keeper."

Faint bells ringing in the distance of Miyu's mind, she looks at Krystal then at Fay. "I don't think she's joking. You were recruited on that recent mission just outside the system, eh?"

Krystal nods.

"What were you doing out there, hon?"

"I fleed from my planet to the first I could find. Fox, he. Er. Saved me. I owe him a debt so here I am."

"Of course you owe him a debt," Miyu sighs. "Like that sleazy furbag would save anyone but his own ass for free."

"You might want to be careful, Miyu," Fays says, forking a glob of innocuous meat into her cheek. Chewing and gulping. "Fox just might have his eye on your little lady friend there."

"Fox can kiss my ass," Miyu says, her mouth contorting towards one side of her face.

"Is..." Krystal looks up at Miyu, noticing she has her full attention and regrets getting it. "N-nothing, nevermind."

"What's up, sweetie? You got a question?"

Krystal bites her lip apprehensively. "I shouldn't meddle in your personal affairs."

"Oh, hon," she says, trying to laugh away Krystal's discomfort. "Please meddle, I'm an open book. I'd just love to tell you anything and everything."

"More open than some of us would like," Fay says through a chewed up wad of food. She swallows again and stabs a new lump with her fork and takes another bite, not bothering to look at them.

"Don't mind her," Miyu mutters through a fleeting glare. "What was your question, dear?"

"Is Fox your mate? Is that why you would like him to kiss you there?"

Miyu blinks, taken aback. Fay howls again, almost choking on her food. She pounds on the table, fist wrapped around the handle of her fork.

"Ugh. No, nonononono. Another figure of speech," Miyu says, mortified, almost shuddering. She looks at Krystal than at the ceiling, her voice slightly distant. "Fox is... not my type. In any sort of capacity."

Krystal cocks her head at Miyu, meeting her eyes with her own for longer than a brief second for the very first time.  
She begins giggling and a smile slowly spreads across Miyu's face. Krystal looks away, free hand covering her mouth as her eyes shut tightly and her shoulders bounce rhythmically with her laughter.

"Pardon me, please, I shouldn't have asked, but it was just such an absurd thing to say."

Miyu looks down at Krystal's hand in her own and back up to her eyes, smirking. "Yeah, we're full of bizarre old sayings in this part of Lylat."

"I'd love to learn them! They are wonderfully absurd."

"Say, how would you like a tour of Mothership after lunch? I know the ins and outs of this place like the back of my paw."

"Pass," Fay says.

"Yeah, I wasn't talking to you, doofus."

Krystal had already been taken around Mothership when she arrived, but she enjoyed the company of her new friend.

"I would love to," she says.


	2. Survival

_ _ _ _ _  
Survival

* * *

The escape pod crashing into the surface of the ocean causes a massive backlash of water and steam to rise violently towards the open sky.  
After a short time, the vessel bobs to the surface and rocks gently against the waves.

Soon enough, the tide drags it to land and abandons it on the beach.

The sun crawls slowly across the sky. Sudden movement. The warped metal exterior of the pod rocking as the door hisses and grinds its way open.  
A blue hand steadies itself on the rim of the opening and helps drag Krystal's weak frame as she stumbles out into the daylight - on her knees in the sand.  
On her hands and knees in the sand.

Loud coughing and hacking. She spits out thickening pools of blood.

She looks up into the blinding light of the sun and sees a ship trailing across the sky. She follows it to the horizon where it seems to crash on the other side of the forest, between that and the backdrop of mountains.  
She whispers something to herself and catches her breath.

* * *

"Aint she a beaut'?" Miyu asks, affectionately slapping the Interceptor on the side of its body.

Krystal smiles politely at Miyu's beaming pride. "It's wonderful."

"She aint like the others," Miyu says, chewing a piece of gum in the corner of her cheek. "You know much about ships?"

Krystal shakes her head. "I am to be educated shortly."

"Eh, no need. All you need to know is that this baby is faster, prettier and stronger than anything on Team Star Fox," she hooks her free thumb towards herself casually, "just like her pilot!"

Kystal giggles. "She certainly is."

"You talkin' about me or the ship?"

A confused expression. Nervous fidgeting. "I do not know much about ships..."

Laugh. "No worries, kid, you already said that. C'mon, I wanna show you the Observatory."

She reaches out and grabs Krystal's hand and leads her gently.

* * *

Chipping away at the rock with another rock, Krystal shapes herself a spearhead.  
Having lived off the land for as much of her life as she has, she has no trouble stripping layers off a discarded branch and weaving them into rope.  
The knot from a decaying tree trunk was a good find, a nice sturdy, straight piece of wood. She carves indentations into it with the spearhead to hold it into place and fastens it tightly.

* * *

"The infinite glory of open space loses its charm to most folks aboard this here Mothership, but not me."

"It is very beautiful."

"You know what I see when I look out this window?"

"Er.. the shining light of many distant suns?"

"Yes," Miyu laughs. "I also see opportunity. Adventure. Possibilities. I see the universe out there waiting for me. Waiting for us."

They look at each other, silhouetted against the shining light of many distant suns and the minimal florescent lighting of the shadowy ship interior.

"Us?"

"Sure! You seem like the swell type to go on an adventure with."

"Where would you take me?"

"Anywhere you'd want to go!"

"But.. I do not know what is out there..."

"Then we'll find what's out there together. We'll explore until we find someplace beautiful."

A quiet moment goes by for what seems like forever and Miyu slowly leans forward and kisses Krystal.

* * *

 _"What the fuck is going on here?!"_

 _"Fucking bitch.. attacked me."_

 _"I don't believe that for a second you sleazy piece of shit. What did you do to her?"_

 _"I didn't do shit to her, Miyu. You'd better watch your fucking mou-"_

* * *

The snapping of a twig in the distance alerts Krystal to consciousness. Her eyes open wide. Grip instinctively tightening around her spear.

She crawls out from under her shelter and towards the dying glow of her campfire's remains.  
Pushing herself from a prone position upright, squatting. Clutching her spear tightly to her.

"S-Salutations?!" she calls out nervously.

No response outside of her own voice echoing through the forest.

More desperately. "Miyu?!"

Leaves crunch in the distance, getting fainter and further away. Probably some animal.

Krystal cries quietly for a moment in the darkness before she collects herself and begins to rebuild the fire.

* * *

Krystal's cheek presses softly against Miyu's naked hip. Her eyes closed, running her hands gently up and down her legs, petting them.  
A gentle, relaxed smile spread across her face.

Miyu stares at the ceiling of her quarters. Absentmindedly brushing the hair on the back of Krystal's head.

"I didn't anticipate this."

"Anticipate what?"

"You."

Krystal looks up at her, concerned. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No! No, I just..." Miyu finds her words. "I never expected to feel this way about anybody again. Much less a recruit of Team Star Fox. I don't even know what I'm doing here."

"How is you feel?"

"...I don't think I have the words for that."

"Maybe you don't need them," Krystal says, hugging her legs.

"Maybe," Miyu says smiling.

"You do not like Team Star Fox."

"No," Miyu says. "I do not."

"Do you owe Mister Fox a debt?"

"Not exactly," she sighs. "I'm doing it for my mom. Almost no takers when General Pepper opened enlistments on Central if you can believe it. When you realize how pitiful the Lylation military is that their first line of defense is a band of mercenaries against a cruel and uncaring alien invasion you put more on the line than you want to."

"Central is your home?"

"It was. I never much cared for the place but my mom called it home and that's where she was buried. I'm not going to let that Aparoid scum assimilate her corpse and continue spreading their disease across the universe. They have to be stopped."

Krystal grabs Miyu's hand from the back of her head and clutches it closely to her. "I know how you feel."

Miyu looks sadly down at Krystal. "I'm sorry."

"Do not be, please," she caresses her own face with Miyu's hand. "You are the only thing that makes it better."

* * *

It wasn't what Fox had said to her - that was lost on her completely. It was the way he grabbed her.  
She vaguely recalls turning down his advances, thinking that was enough. But then he grabbed her.

Her grabbed her just like him and something short circuited in her brain. Suddenly she was back in that moment. Scratching and kicking. Claws digging into flesh. Resisting.  
Screaming.  
This time something hit her in the side of the head instead of the nose, and still she went down.

She saw both of them standing there over her, blurring together.  
She exists in two points in time.

Screaming. Her own.  
Ears ringing, body fighting on its own accord. She screams louder still.

Miyu's there, screaming at him and she desperately crawls over to her leg and she hugs it, shaking. Unsure of herself and of what just happened.

More screaming. She holds tightly and shuts her eyes.

* * *

She's tired.

The spear trembles in her grip.

She strikes at the shadows under the surface and pulls up nothing.

Whining in frustration, she readies herself once again. Still and quiet as she is, she can't quiet quell her nagging anxieties.  
After some time, a fallen tear causes a ripple on the surface. She lets go of her emotions, striking at the shadows again.

Eventually she cooks a single fish over the open flame of her campfire. The shelter behind her more shoddily built than the last.  
She eats the fish, even though she really doesn't want to. She needs her strength to find Miyu.

Krystal doesn't watch the sunrise. She just crawls into her shelter.

Hours go by and she hasn't slept or moved much.

She keeps asking herself the same questions and filling herself with more anxiety.

 _What if that wasn't her._

 _What if she's looking for me on the beach._

 _What if she's dead._

 _What if she breaks her promise._

 _What if I never see her again._

The cold air sends shivers down her spine and she relives the same moments over and over in her head simultaneously.

 _When she first kissed Miyu._

 _When she first made eye contact._

 _When she first introduced herself._

 _When she..._

 _When Fox grabbed her the way he did._

 _When the doctor told her they had no idea what was wrong with her._

 _When she woke up fighting and Miyu was there._

 _When she had to meet with Fox and General Pepper._

 _When she refused to say goodbye._

* * *

"Is this the woman you claimed assaulted you?" General Pepper asks dryly. He leans forward at his desk, eyes shifted back from her to him.

"Yes sir."

"Tell me again," he says, licking his thumb and shuffling through his files on his desk before him. "How did you come across this woman?"

"We found her on the dinosaur planet, sir."

"How did you find this woman? In what state?"

Krystal shifts uncomfortably in her chair. Looking up at General Pepper and looking back at the floor. She doesn't say anything.

"She was being raped by General Scales, sir. I took advantage of his drawn attention and assassinated the targe-"

"Did he make advances on you, young lady?"

Krystal looks up at him, speechless. She looks over at Fox, glaring at her, and she looks back at Pepper, not knowing what to say.

"Sir, I didn't-"

Pepper silences him with his open palm. "Cut the shit, Fox. You crossed the line with this girl, didn't you?"

Fox doesn't say anything. Glaring at General Pepper through an eyepatch he bites his tongue.

"I hear about this sort of behavior again, and you're terminated, you understand?"

"Please," Fox scoffs. "You need me."

"I need soldiers. If you try to fuck them, it inevitably creates a conflict of interest. This is your final warning, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Louder."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Well understood. Get out of my office."

He huffs and stands and the office door slams behind Krystal, startling her.

"You alright?"

She hesitates. She nods.

"You alright to get back to training?"

She nods.

"Good. He won't be harming you again, I'll see to it. In exchange, I'll need you at the top of your game."

She doesn't respond.

"Speak, girl," he says sternly.

"Y-yes, I- ... he didn't-"

"Stop yourself. I'm well aware of what happened to you. I'm not interested in the extent at which his behavior can influence you. I assure you it's taken care of. Can I count on you, Krystal?"

"Y-yes."

"Good. Please leave my office."

She takes a brief moment to let it all sink in as he returns his attention to the papers on his desk. She gets up and opens the door.

* * *

"After we save Central, we will go on adventures together?"

"Of course, Krystal."

"Promise?" she offers her pinky and Miyu giggles, delighted to accept.

"Of course," she says through a smile. "Promise."

* * *

When Krystal woke up violently thrashing, she didn't know what she was doing.  
When she tore Miyu's skin open, she didn't know what she was doing.  
When Miyu held her tightly and calmed her down by whisper singing into her ear she came back to reality and she felt bad.  
When she started to cry and Miyu wiped the tears from her eyes and told her it's okay, it's okay I understand over and over and over again, Krystal wanted to believe her ever so desperately.

A quivering, apologetic mess in her arms, she kept saying it, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

And Miyu, ever so gentle, always so understanding, she kept telling her not to worry. She kept telling her it was all okay.

Like a cradle they rocked, back and forth. Miyu whispering calmness into her ears and down her spine. Still, she shivered and felt guilty.


	3. Nightmares

_ _ _ _ _ _ _  
Nightmares 

* * *

_"Get in the pod, Krystal," she says as calmly as she can, practically stuffing the poor frightened animal in against her will. "Quickly."_

 _"Wh-what about you?!"_

 _Another crash. Krystal yelps._  
 _Foundations rumble._

 _Krystal grabs at her hand desperately from inside the escape pod and pulls her in closer._  
 _Miyu wavers briefly._

 _"There's not enough room or oxygen for two people-"_

 _Krystal's grip tightens as she cuts her off. Tears filling her eyes. "I can't leave, not without you. Please."_

 _"Be brave, Krystal. I'll find you. I promise. I have the fastest, prettiest and strongest ship around, remember?"_

 _Krystal smiles through her tears and reluctantly lets go of Miyu, sniffing. "Please hurry."_

 _Miyu kisses her for longer than she probably should and leans back outside the pod to push some buttons on the panel._

 _"We'll be together again before you know it."_

 _The door shuts and they are separated by the transparent barrier. Her figure distorted, warped. Krystal is terrified as she begins to drift away._

* * *

Booming thunder shaking the earth in the distance stirs the sleeping fox. Her eyes blink a few times before adjusting.  
Dawn. No rain.

Dry storm for not. However, she can sense the looming black cloud on the horizon.  
She checks her compass to ground herself.  
East.  
She grabs her spear and tosses her bag over her shoulder, spending no time deconstructing the shelter. Yawning loudly, she presses forward. Dead leaves crunching underneath her feet.

The trees get more barren every day, and every day she struggles harder to hold onto hope. 

* * *

_"And he said 'lady! it's people like you who make this job fucking disgusting!"_

 _Krystal and Fay laugh. Even Miyu laughs at her own joke._

 _"Say, Krystal," Fay says, setting her coffee down. "You got any jokes from Cerinia?"_

 _"Yes!" Krystal breaks through a bashful smile. "How many beansmiles does it take to fill in a gnortglorm?!"_

 _Both Miyu and Fay blink at her._

 _"Kridmal!" she snorts into her hand, giggling insanely._

 _Miyu joins along, not understanding the joke but appreciating the delivery._

 _"You lost me," Fay says, throwing up her arms theatrically._

 _Both of them laugh harder._

* * *

She saw herself in the reflection and she just had to put the spear down. She couldn't stab herself anymore and she couldn't catch the shadows. And that's okay, right?  
She found a new layer of the wild and she dances and she sings and she cries for the dead lambs. But angels come down in front of her, and tells her she's alright e ven though sh e is n ' t.

Message carved into a tree trunk along the river, says;  
 _A hermit bleeds somewhere._  
 _I couldn't become the considered._  
 _And as of ah, all of my god isn't here, isn't here._  
But Krystal can't read it.

Krystal scoops up a small pool of water from the river in her hands. She takes a drink. 

* * *

_As she exits Pepper's office, a hand stops her at an intersection and she freezes._  
 _Fox. Glaring at her through that one eye, eyepatch obscuring his face. Brow furrowed._

 _"This isn't over," he says._

 _He walks away._

* * *

She rushed to the wreckage when she found it.  
Tearing off foliage. INTERCEPTOR.  
Revealing the prettiest, most fastest and strongest ship in the fleet. 

* * *

_"Aint she a beaut'?" Miyu asks, affectionately slapping the Interceptor on the side of its body._

 _Krystal smiles politely at Miyu's beaming pride. "It's wonderful."_

 _"She aint like the others," Miyu says, chewing a piece of gum in the corner of her cheek. "You know much about ships?"_

 _Krystal shakes her head. "I am to be educated shortly."_

 _"Eh, no need. All you need to know is that this baby is faster, prettier and stronger than anything on Team Star Fox," she hooks her free thumb towards herself casually, "just like her pilot!"_

* * *

But the cockpit was open, and empty.  
Frantically she looks around for markings, some kind of trail.

Footprints. Specks of blood leading up to the rocks.

Heart pounding in her chest, she begins to follow in those footsteps. 

* * *

_"I'd like to see it someday. Will you take me?"_

 _"See what?"_

 _"Central. Your home."_

 _"Ah. Central isn't really my home. Central's my mom's home."_

 _"You grew up there?"_

 _"Yeah."_

 _"Then I would like to see it." Krystal closes the distance and puts her arms shyly around Miyu. She buries her face in her neck and peeks up at her. "I would like to see where you grew up. Will you take me?"_

 _A satisfied chuckle. "What did I say?"_

 _"You said you would take me wherever I wanted to go."_

 _"I suppose I'll have to, if I want to keep my word then, huh?"_

 _"I suppose you will. You should know better than to make promises to strangers."_

 _"We aren't strangers anymore," Miyu laughs and she begins to mimic Krystal's accent. "We are, how you say, mate?"_

 _A playful slap on Miyu's back. "Kiss my ass."_

 _More mockery. "Keese miyass! Do you say that because I am your mate? Is that why you would like me to keese you there?"_

 _Krystal bites Miyu's shoulder, both of them giggling._

 _"I love you," Miyu says._

 _"I love you, too."_

* * *

The footprints and specks of blood lead her around the side of the mountain. Each step filling her with more hope and anxiety.  
She tries not to panic.

Trail runs cold at the mouth of a small cave. She squats and peers in to try and see into the darkness.  
Sun is setting behind her. She hasn't thought about a shelter or food.

Just Miyu.

"Miyu?"  
She drops her spear and approaches slowly. "Miyu..?"

"Miyu," a rough, voice growls. Something moves in the darkness.

Krystal freezes.  
That's not Miyu.

"What fortune has this shithole of a planet brought me today?"

Krystal backs up slowly, back towards he spear. She reaches for it.

The cocking of the laser pistol is followed by the readied glow of the inside of the barrel. "Don't."

Her fingertips stop just short of it and she backs up further, raising both her trembling hands in the sky.

"M-Miyu.." she trembles. "H-have you seen her? Do you know where she is?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about your little girlfriend," Fox says, emerging from the shadows. Pointing the pistol directly at her. "I'd worry about yourself, if I were you. I'd worry about what I'm about to do to you."

"M-mister Fox, I- ... please-"

"Oh no. Your little girlfriend isn't here to save you now." He straightens himself up when he gets past the mouth of the cave, advancing slowly. "You and I are gonna have a little chat. We have unfinished business, you see."

His grip on the pistol isn't steady. He's squinting at her with his left eye. His only good one left.

Krystal yelps as she trips backwards over a good sized rock and gravity takes her down to her back.

Fox laughs. "Good, getting into position I see. First I'm gonna fuck ya, then I'm going to tear both your eyes out of your fucking head and leave you to die in this shithole. Now, take off your-"

Krystal's quick to cut him off by a handful of rocks to the face. "FUCK!"

The gun goes off and misses her head by inches. Already she's getting to her feet, rushing him and tackling him to the ground.  
She punches him in the face and punches him again. He starts to struggle. She wrestles the pistol out of his hands and tosses it hard to the side before hitting him in the throat. He struggles to breathe, air whistling through his damaged windpipe.

She gets up and watches him clutch his neck desperately for a second before walking past his head to retrieve her spear. She picks it up and walks back to him, clutching it tightly.

His eye wide with fear. His nails on his left hand digging into the jacket on his chest, reaching for something. The other hand reaches weakly for her.

Krystal brings the spearhead down hard into his neck, staring him in the eye.

She remembers being so vulnerable in his arms after he saved her. Thinking she was safe.

She remembers being grateful for the opportunity to pay him back.

Fox McCloud was no better than any of the other monsters and that's why Miyu hated him so much.

"Kiss my ass," she says, twisting the spear inside of his neck. A cough attempt at a gasp sends a jettison  
of blood upwards to the sky. It rains back down on him. She rips the spear loose and drops it next to him before walking away.  
His hand drops as he bleeds out at an alarming rate. Sputters and coughs and gurgling attempts to draw air quickly die out as his blood pools around him on the rocks.

Krystal kicks something and screams before sobbing. 

* * *

_"He's dead, Miyu," she says absentmindedly. Staring out the window of the observatory. "I killed that sleazy furbag. He tried to kill me first and I killed him."_

 _Miyu doesn't answer. Just stares out into space._

 _Krystal reaches for her hand._

* * *

She drags the body to a cliff and drops it off. Leading a trail of blood from the place he died near the mouth of the cave to his limp corpse crashing against the rocks on his way down.  
Fuck him.

It begins to rain. Krystal takes shelter in the cave.

The ambient sound of water crashing down on the rocks echoes around her throughout the shadows. Krystal does not sleep. She doesn't attempt to.  
She hugs her knees and waits.

Lightning flashes, lighting up the whole cave. She rests her head on her knees and gazes out into pure darkness.  
Another flash and she sees something, her ears perking up and her eyes widening.

It couldn't be.

"Miyu!" she screams, crawling to her knees and out into the rain.

Again the world lights up for a fraction of a second, and there she is, standing still. Further away this time.  
Following the trail of blood.

"MIYU! WAIT!"

Her desperate screams are buried under the rain.  
Feet pounding against the ground, digging into gravel.

The world lights up again and she comes to a dead halt just feet away from the ledge. Miyu is right there, facing away. Just a few more steps.

Krystal reaches out for Miyu's hand in the darkness as thunder cracks the sky.  
And as the wind picks up, pelting her hard on the side of her face with rain, Krystal's hand closes in on itself into a fist.


End file.
